According to several reports, Apple is holding discussions with leading cable operators in the US about allowing customers to use a set top box developed by Apple to access live television and other content on their television sets.

Apple has been trying to enter the television market since some years now and many initiatives have not led the company to the customer's living room yet. One of the main reasons for this is that the cable TV operators are reluctant to allow the most valuable company in the world to expand its presence and capture a huge share of the TV market.

Apple is now aiming to develop a set-top box that would allow customers to access live television and other content. The company needs the support of cable TV operators for the initiative to succeed as they will have to allow access to live transmission. The set top box will allow the customers to purchase the box instead of laying a monthly leasing fee to cable companies.

Apple is aiming to get direct access to myriad channels though cable operators instead of having to enter with individual deals with media companies and program owners for shows and other content. The company's Apple TV product lacks live network broadcasting and is only used for downloading movies and TV shows from the iTunes media store and it can also be used to stream live data from services such as Netflix and YouTube.

Apple has now commented on the matter.